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Learning To Teach in a Teacher Preparation Program
Interview Protocol
This interview is part of a research study on secondary teacher interns’ experiences in a teacher
preparation program. The goal of the research is to better understand how interns’ experiences in courses
and field placements seem to influence and are influenced by their conceptions of teaching. The study
will focus on three social studies teacher interns during their field experiences in MSU’s secondary
teacher preparation program.
Each teacher intern will be interviewed four times: one interview will take place at the beginning of the
study (September 2013), two interviews will be done after observing interns’ lessons (October 2013,
February 2014), and one interview will occur at the end of the study (March 2013).
The interview questions for the first interview are as follows:
1. Could you describe your background in education? (Probe for where they attended high school,
their college major, whether they have had previous experiences teaching/working with children)
2. Could you describe your experience when studying with a teacher who was very important to you
(i.e., influential) in your K-12 schooling experience? (Probe for subject, grade, teaching style,
most memorable moments, views/conceptions on good teaching)
3. Could you describe your experience when with a teacher who was less important/influential in
your K-12 schooling experience? (Probe for subject, grade, teaching style, most memorable
moments, views/conceptions on bad teaching)
4. Could you tell me how you understand the five enduring understandings in MSU’s social studies
secondary teacher preparation program? (The five enduring understandings are: 1) Teachers and
students co-create curriculum; 2) Teachers value the cultural, social and intellectual funds that
students bring to school; 3) Teaching is a learning profession; 4) Social studies teaching is
interdisciplinary and connects students to the world around them; 5) Teachers and students are
citizens – Probe for learning experience in MSU courses, views on teaching concepts)
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The second and the third interviews will take place one or two days after the researcher conducts a videorecorded lesson observation. In part, these interviews will involve the researcher and the teacher intern
watching several 2-minute-teaching-episodes together that were chosen by the researcher from the video
recording of the observed lesson. The interview questions for the second and third interview are as
follows:
1. In your opinion, how did the lesson go? (Probe for perceived significant teaching episodes,
whether lesson objectives are met, teaching problems, teaching successes, conceptions of
teaching)
2. Could you describe what is happening in this video episode? (Probe for dilemmas, intentions,
decisions, reasons for decisions, conceptions of teaching)
3. Some possible additional questions:
a. In this lesson, the you co-create the curriculum with students? If so, please describe.
(Probe for their experiences in MSU courses, their views on teaching concepts)
b. In this lesson, did you draw on/make use of the cultural, social and intellectual funds that
students bring to school? If so, please describe. (Probe for their experiences in MSU
courses, their views on teaching concepts)
c. After teaching this lesson, did you reflect on the lesson/make decisions to alter it when
you teach it again? If so, please describe. (Probe for their experiences in MSU courses,
their views on teaching concepts)
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d. In this lesson, did communicate to students that social studies is interdisciplinary and
connected to the world around them? If so, please describe. (Probe for their experiences
in MSU courses, their views on teaching concepts)
e. In this lesson, did you communicate to students that they are citizens? If so, please
describe. (Probe for their experiences in MSU courses, their views on teaching concepts)
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The questions for the final interview are as follows:
1. What are 2-3 important lessons about teaching that you have learned during your field
experience? (Probe for their most successful lesson, their most difficult problem)
2. Have your experiences in your MSU courses helped you with your teaching in the field
experience? If so, please describe some ways that these experiences have helped you. (Probe for
their learning experience in MSU courses, their views on teaching concepts, possible connections
between theory and practice)
3. Now that you have taught as an intern for almost a year, how would you describe your experience
when studying with a teacher who was important or influential in your K-12 schooling
experience? (Probe for most memorable moments, views/conceptions on effective teaching)
4. Now that you have taught as an intern for almost a year, how would you describe your experience
when studying with a teacher who was less important/influential in your K-12 schooling
experience? (Probe for most memorable moments, views/conceptions on ineffective teaching)
5. As you approach the end of your internship, how do you understand the five enduring
understandings in MSU’s social studies secondary teacher preparation program? (The five
enduring understandings are: 1) Teachers and students co-create curriculum; 2) Teachers value
the cultural, social and intellectual funds that students bring to school; 3) Teaching is a learning
profession; 4) Social studies teaching is interdisciplinary and connects students to the world
around them; 5) Teachers and students are citizens) (Probe for their experiences in MSU courses,
their views on teaching concepts)